Antislip tread



D 5, 1950' H DOWLI-NG 2,532,485

'ANTISLIP TREAD Filed April 26, 1 947 H/s A ltorney Patented Dec. 5, 1950 ANTISLIP TREAD- Leslie Horace Dowling, Sutton Col'dfield, England ApplicationrApril 26,1947, Serial No. 744,235

In Great Britain anuary' 16,1946.

Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8,1946" Patent expires J anuary 16; 1966 2 Claims.

This invention relates to footwear for outdoor use and is especially, but not exclusively, applicable to boots to be worn when playing various kinds of football games; the wider applications of my invention comprehend boots and shoes for golf, hockey, walking, running, jumping and mountaineering and analogous sports and outdoor exercises particularly where slip" pery or ice-bound surfaces obtain.

With especial reference to football boots, the tread surfaces of which are ordinarily provided with several thick studs each of which has three or more nails by which it is secured in position, it is found in practice after relatively short service, more particularly when such boots have been used on wet or muddy ground, that soles become depressed at the local area of these studs and consequently bulges are formed in the inner sole with a result that boots become uncomfortable and the feet of players suffer from corns or blisters which may lead to serious or minor injury or alternatively keep players off the field. Another disadvantage of studded footwear is that players can be gashed or torn inadvertently by wild kicks.

An object of the invention is to provide improvements in outdoor footwear of the kind under review in which these disadvantages are mainly eliminated.

The invention consists of a new and improved tread surface for sports footwear and comprises the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and specifically recited in the claims.

In order that my invention may be readily understood and carried into practice, it will now be described in detail with reference to the am nexed drawing which illustrates an experimental form of my invention. In the drawing- Fig. l is a perspective view of the underside of a sports shoe.

Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of a sole tread portion and a heel tread portion of open link chain and their interconnected thin studs prior to tachment to footwear.

In this drawing, the numeral I indicates a boot or shoe suitable forsports use although the deep heel shown would not be incorporated in a conventional football boot. On the surface of the outer sole 2, there are six leather studs 3, which are uniformly arranged and securely nailed thereto as shown, these studs being relatively thin (about three-sixteenths of an inch) as com pared with the conventional deep studs usually fitted to such boots. An open link chain 4, is securely anchored to each stud 3 by means of simple cotter or split pins 5 which are inserted in links 6 up to the heads of the pins 5 and the shanks l are displaced outwardly and clinched against the undersides 8 of the thin leather studs 3 so as to be substantially flush therewith as illustrated at Fig.2. When the leather studs 3 are nailed to the outer sole 2, the clinched shanks l are securely sandwiched between the sole 2 and the studs 3 so that inadvertent displacement or loosening of the split pins 5 will be resisted.

It will be seen that the chain 4 connected to the studs 3 at intermediate position in its length, provides at these positions flexible or slightly sagging sections of chain [2 whose several links are capable of limited displacement in two principal directions and which are adapted to operate as substantial abutment areas between ground and tread surfaces, so that a relatively greater resistance to slipping on wet, muddy or icebound surfaces will be ensured. It will be seen that the sections of chain l2 lie in a plane substantially parallel with the surfaces of the outer sole 2. It is preferred to apply this non-slip tread permanently to footwear although, if desired, the tread may be mounted on a sole support provided with straps adapted to be fastened over the upper l3. In any event, whether permanent or attachable treads are employed, the flexible or sagging chain sections l2 lie substantially flush with the projecting points of anchorage provided by the thin studs 3 by occupying the space between adjoining studs so that these sections may press against the surface of the sole. It is preferred to secure the studs 3 approximately near the boundary of the sole as illustrated by Fig. 1 thereby to leave an area in the middle of the boot clear of the chain.

From Fig. 2 it will be appreciated that the loop-like non-slip sole tread together with the heel piece according to this invention can be fabricated in readiness for fixing to footwear in which loop-like condition it will be supplied t footwear makers and repairers.

The chain employed is not in any way a special chain; it is constructed of a readily obtainable strong oval or similarly shaped open link of the welded type.

It is to be noted that the total weight of a tread as illustrated does not exceed approximately 1 ounces so that very little additional weight to footwear is involved.

What I claim is: 1. Anti-skid tread for sports footwear comprising an open link chain connected at 111- termediate positions of its length to thin studs adapted to be secured to the tread surface of footwear, the respective lengths of chain between adjoining studs constituting flexible sections capable when fitted to a tread surface of limited displacement and operating as abutments between ground and tread surfaces, said chain being connected to said studs by split pins, said split pins engaging the links and central holes in said studs, the heads of said split pins forming anchorages for said chain and the shanks of said pins being clinched against the upper-side of said studs.

2. Sports footwear having anti-skid tread comprising an open link chain connected at intermediate positions of its length to thin studs secured to the tread surface of footwear, the respective lengths of chain between adjoining studs constituting flexible sections capable of limited displacement and operating as abutments between ground and tread surfaces, said chain being connected to said studs by split pins, said split pins engaging the links and central holes in said studs, the heads of said split pins forming anchorages for said chain and the shanks of said pins being clinched against the upperside of said studs.

LESLIE HORACE DOWLING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,021,166 Simpson Mar. 26, 1912 2,084,671 Curran June 22, 1937 

